Religious leaders deliver message of unity and love

Monday

Oct 16, 2017 at 9:36 PMOct 18, 2017 at 1:18 PM

The Alachua County Faith Leaders Alliance spoke at Gainesville City Hall ahead of white-nationalist Richard Spencer's visit to UF campus.

Local leaders from Buddhist, Christian, Islamic and Jewish faiths, like government, law enforcement, the University of Florida and other officials, are preparing for white nationalist Richard Spencer’s speaking engagement in Gainesville Thursday by encouraging people to stay away.

They don’t want what happened in Charlottesville, Virginia, to happen here, regardless of which faith Gainesville residents do or do not follow.

Spencer visited Charlottesville in August as part of a “Unite The Right” rally where a man drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters and killed a woman. Nineteen others were injured in the rally.

About 100 people showed up to the steps of Gainesville City Hall Monday night and heard this warning from the Alachua County Faith Leaders Alliance, among other messages that encouraged unity and love ahead of Spencer’s speech at the Phillips Center.

The Rev. Lenora Rousseau of Trinity United Methodist Church said the religious leaders decided to share their message ahead of Thursday's event because they’ve been advised by law enforcement officials to stay away from the Phillips Center, citing an increased chance of conflict.

“We have chosen (Monday) in advance to make a proclamation that this city is a place where all are welcome; it's a place of a diversity where all are welcome,” Rousseau said. “That’s what we’ve told all our congregations.

“We all have this sense of what is going to come and yet the more we can proclaim peace and say, ‘This is what our city is about,’ hopefully these are things (Spencer and his followers) hear even when they arrive.”

One by one, 13 faith leaders came forth and spoke, asking members of all faiths to not be discouraged by Spencer's pro-white and divisive rhetoric.

The Rev. Shelly Wilson from the United Church of Gainesville said the group stood together, with all its congregations, as people of faith and fellow citizens who understand that though their religious traditions and systems of belief are different, their core values are the same.

“We are all called to love one another, to work together towards justice and mercy, to welcome the stranger and to overcome fear and hatred with love and understanding,” she said.

Saheed Khan, a member of Hoda, an Islamic Center in Gainesville, said Islam teaches that God organized people into nations and tribes to foster appreciation and unity of underlying outward differences, but inside, people are all the same, he said.

Rabbi David Kaiman of Congregation B'nai Israel said Judaism teaches its people to love their neighbor.

Jan Snyder said Buddhism teaches that every human has good in them and if people work together, they can build an enlightened society.

Sharon Nelson, a Gainesville resident, came to support the faith leaders Monday because the more standing in unity, the better, she said.

“We try to be unified as much as we can," she said. "But with the white supremacist coming and the chance of violence, we thought it was necessary to do a little more this time.”

Nelson plans to stay as far away as she can from the Phillip Center Thursday, she said, and is encouraging her loved ones to do the same.

“If there’s only one side," she said, “there can’t be violence.”

Monday’s event is one of many faith-based events in the coming days, leading up to Spencer’s 2:30 p.m. speech.

Catholic church leaders were among the group denouncing Spencer’s rhetoric.

John Phillips, the pastor of Holy Faith Catholic Church and spokesman for the Catholic churches, said in a statement that his faith declares racism as a “radical evil dividing the human family.”

The Catholic churches invite residents to pray for racial equality and respect on Wednesday at 7 p.m., in response to Spencer’s appearance. The prayer vigil will be at Holy Faith Catholic Church, 747 NW 43rd St.

Pastor Karl Anderson, senior pastor of Upper Room Ministries and president of the Alachua County Christian Pastors Association, also is encouraging his congregation and more than 60 churches that are a part of the association to avoid the Phillips Center altogether Thursday.

“We are asking our parishioners to pray for love, peace and unity wherever they are at on Thursday during the event,” Anderson said.

The association’s churches are placing the words “Love, Peace and Unity” on their marquees and encourage parishioners to use the hashtag #praystayaway on all social media outlets.

Anderson said Spencer's visit has the potential to distract some people from the camaraderie and love people from different cultures and communities have displayed locally in helping each other recover from Hurricane Irma.

Welcoming Gainesville and Alachua County, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to make Gainesville an inclusive community that celebrates diversity, also denounced Spencer's visit.

The group is offering yard signs with the message “No matter where you are from, we’re glad you’re our neighbor,” written in Spanish, English and Arabic as a way to promote unity. The signs cost $10 each and bulk orders receive a 10 percent discount.

On Monday, Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for Alachua County in advance of Spencer’s visit, a move aimed at helping better pool law enforcement resources.

But the Rev. Aaron Rousseau, like others from the county's faith leaders alliance, said he hopes Gainesville residents will stand united in its diversity and be stronger for it.

“Gainesville is a city of hope, a city of love, a city of peace,” he said. “Hate and violence have no place here. We choose to be united in love.”

— Sun reporter Cleveland Tinker contributed to this report.

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